When you think of "Seinfeld" - What comes to mind?
If your answer is missing from any of the points mentioned in this post, we ask that you revisit the series, because you may have overlooked the essence of the show.
Start from the very beginning and go through them in the order they originally aired...Lucky for you, Netflix makes that pretty easy to do.
Groundbreaking, genre-bending, generational defining art shatters pre-conceptions. There are a handful of artists that reset the parameters, conventions, and possibilities of their medium; they are unlike anything that came before, and their influence reverberates in everything that comes after. In other words, they change the game forever.
Those who lived through these seismic shifts in real-time will appreciate the catalysts of change more than the generations that follow. It is impossible for new generations to be effected in the same way, because for them all originality is lost. A foundational grasp on any subject is key to appreciating the broader appeal.
What is the core concept of Seinfeld? What is the foundation for which it is built? How is the show defined?
We believe the answers to these questions are first revealed in the following episodes.
"The Seinfeld Chronicles" ("Good News, Bad News")
Original Airdate: July 7, 1989
Written By: Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
Directed By: Art Wolf
"If you know what happened in the Mets game, don't say anything, I taped it, hello."
This scene provides us with everything we will ever need to know about Jerry and Kramer's relationship. It is all here. Kramer enters, Kramer opens his mouth and ruins the game for Jerry. Kramer mooches off of Jerry. That is it.
There is no vintage ill-fitting outfit. There is no wall of hair. There is no sliding entrance. There is no slapstick physical humor. That will be added by Michael Richard's as he develops the character throughout the series; taking the character to an almost cartoon-like level. Instead, we just have the essence of Kramer.
The essence of Kramer is I do what want, I say what I want, and I take what I want. He does nothing, falls ass-backwards into money, mooches food off his neighbor, and has sex without dating. That is Kramer.
It is all right there in his first scene of the series. The only thing missing is his name.
The essence of Jerry is also here. The core idea for the show is Jerry and George living in perpetual adolescence. They are not men, they are children. They are intimidated by men with jobs, who wear suits and have secretaries. Their lives revolve around cereal and comic books...and baseball and women.
Jerry's essence is watching baseball, eating cereal, and trying to figure out women. It is all there in the very first episode...signals Jerry signals.
"The Phone Message"
Original Airdate: February 13, 1991
Written By: Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld
Directed By: Tom Cherones
"She invited me up. Coffee's not coffee, coffee is sex."
This is episode nine. We get a mere glimpse of George Costanza In the previous eight episodes. The storylines in the previous eight episodes omit the essence of George for the most part.
We see George luck out on a stock tip and strand Jerry and Elaine at a party to be with a woman. Of course we see his stinginess with money and neurosis in social situations, but in the first eight episodes he is not the down-on-his-luck, lovable loser we come to expect thereafter. For that matter, Jerry's Even-Steven, blasé attitude is underdeveloped in the first eight episodes as well.
This all changes in "The Phone Message." "The Phone Message" is George's arrival. In "The Phone Message" we get everything we love about George, neurosis, paranoia, revenge, scheming, misery, an all-encompassing downtrodden existence..as he puts it, "people this stupid shouldn't be allowed to live."
"The Phone Message" also brings us Jerry's first of a long-line of breakups for seemingly mundane reasons; a trait that becomes a staple in the "Seinfeld" universe. Kramer does his thing as well..."Cotton Dockers!"
"The Deal"
Original Airdate: May 2, 1991
Written By: Larry David
Directed By: Tom Cherones
"Thousands of years people have been trying to have their cake and eat it too. So all of a sudden the two of you are going to come along and do it."
Chances are a female co-star in a pre-1991 sitcom was romantically involved in some way with a male co-star. In "The Finale" when "Jerry" is revisited by NBC Execs, George declares, "I really don't think so-called relationship humor is what this show is all about." George is summing up the essence of Elaine's presence on the "real" show, "Seinfeld."
She will not be a pawn in their ratings game.
"The Apartment" touches on the relationship between Jerry and Elaine, but "The Deal" cements it. "The Deal" makes sure the audience understands, this is it; this is the last you will see of Jerry and Elaine romantically involved. The "Seinfeld" universe will refrain from relying on the "Sam and Dianne" hook that proceeded it, and the countless copycats that followed, i.e. "Ross and Rachel" and "Jim and Pam."
Breaking trends is what game changers do.
Sure, "The Mango" resurrects their intimacy, but only to serve a utilitarian purpose, "sex to save the friendship," there is zero romance.
"The Deal" gives us the essence of Elaine, she is a "man's man." As Kramer puts it, she "hates women" and "women hate her." Elaine is the chick who hangs with the guys. Despite her desire to break away and be part of a more sophisticated part of society, she is embedded with these three guys. She is as immature as them, as vengeful and jaded; she is relegated to her mediocre place on the totem pole and has to deal with it.
In "The Deal," she gives it one more shot, to settle down with Jerry; rules be damned she wants Jerry spending the night. In the end she realizes being his "pal" is inevitable. More important, the audience realizes this.
We can now settle in knowing that in this universe, in this sitcom, things will be different. The female co-star will be treated like one of the guys.
Elaine will hold her own.
Oh, and we get quintessential George, who is now in full-swing. "I don't have a job, I have no place to go. You're not in the mood? Well, you get in the mood!"
Kramer being Kramer by foiling Jerry's plan and gifting Elaine just what she wanted, plus the Jerry, George and Elaine stuff would be enough to call this episode a cornerstone of the show.
Game changers do more.
This episode is our first look at what will become the staple of "Seinfeld," superb writing. Prior to 1991 sitcoms taught us lessons, they ended with a proper resolution; sure they made us laugh, but they would also evoke other emotions such as sadness, empathy, and warmth. The sole, defining and steadfast focus of a "Seinfeld" script is humor. The earmarks of a "Seinfeld" script, especially in the first five seasons, go beyond humor, to Shakespearean levels.
"The Outing," "The Contest," "The Mango," "The Hamptons" to highlight a few, are all crafted in such a way as to dance around the vulgar and profane R-Rated themes they cover. They pass the scrutiny of primetime network censors who were monitoring the parlance of the time. If you lived it you know; unless blanketed with a broader lesson often in a family setting, where an obvious hushed tone was hammered home to the viewer, these topics were forbidden from mainstream public viewing.
"Seinfeld" hammered humor over the head of the viewer and yet, did so with the tact of a tightrope walker. The precision dialogue that the show would be known-for is first seen in this episode. Jerry and Elaine dance around what in later generations becomes known as the cliche, "friends with benefits."
Peter Mehlman tells us this is the best written episode in television history.
Larry David explores the nuances involved in this arrangement well before the trite label becomes part of a generation's vernacular through pop-music, less nuanced television and explicit movies.
When Jerry and Elaine fail to combine the "this" with the "that" the audience is provided the blueprint for their relationship and can settle into the Seinfeld universe without waiting for their relationship to blossom.
It is reiterated later in "The Pen" and touched on previously in "The Pony Remark" but "The Deal" seals the deal on their friendship...Elaine will always be "a great pal" to Jerry and she, like the audience, is just fine with it.
"The Seinfeld Chronicles" lays the foundation for Jerry and Kramer. "The Phone Message" gives us our first true taste of George. "The Deal" highlights the word-play, nuanced and smart sitcom writing that sets the tone for how they tackle bawdy content. "The Deal" also solidifies Elaine's role.
Each of these three episodes also define Jerry's relationship with the other three characters. They present our first look at Kramer helping himself to Jerry's fridge. Jerry has zero boundaries with Kramer, signified by Kramer having no qualms entering at 1:00AM and asking for meat for a sandwich.
Jerry will go through great lengths for his longtime friend George, switching the answering machine tape. Their bond holds the entire series together, even through the later seasons when the heart of the show is often lost in outlandish storylines.
Elaine and Jerry are pals, as mentioned above, their relationship will remain plutonic from "The Deal" to the series conclusion.
"Seinfeld" at its core is defined by Jerry and George's friendship, which revolves around women and sports. This is the point of the show. Everything else in their universe happens within this framework. A framework established in the first 15 episodes. Your appreciation for the show will transform once you understand this.
